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Sun hitting a tank will give you green water pretty quickly. If you forgot to close those blinds for a day or two, that's all it takes. Put some black poster board on that end of the tank if it helps. I would have opted for water changes daily until the tank was clear. I'd also be running a nitrate sponge to reduce on nitrates.

But you have double trouble between high pH and high nitrates. You might want to check into R/O water installed. When a person needs to haul water for a fish tank, then something needs to be done. Even a water softener would work better than what you currently have. You're spending all this money to have better water for your fish tank but you still have this same water for yourselves.

But since you are always adding water with high nitrates, not sure as this is the solution for you or not. I would use something to reduce those nitrates.
A nitrate reducing sponge, reactor, something. If you are using well water, I bet you have high phosphates as well.

I am testing an algae scrubber (tried a bio-reactor - while its works, I lost all my Discus in that tank due to its suddenly kicking in; so, I don't recommend those devices!)

A lot of people have had great success with algae scrubbers - a new design (see this thread on algae scrubbers) allows any tank, even a small one, to have an algae scrubber - no sump or external systems needed!

An algae scrubber should consume the nitrates and phosphates in your tank. Far better still, this device would enable you to use your well water since it will clear the nitrates from it.

That is the same reason I tried to use both a scrubber and bio-reactor. While my well water nitrates got up to 5 ppm (now their between 1 to 2 ppm) this caused me endless problems with algae. I use a phosphate absorber but luckily got that stuff on a special sale. Once tried a nitrate absorber but between poor results and high cost (and knowing I'd have to buy them from now on) gave up. Hence, trying a 'in the tank algae scrubber' might be well worth the trouble - needs an air pump and power for its light (LED's, so low cost in power usage.)

Last edited by Cermet; 07-01-2012 at 01:14 PM.

Knowledge is fun(damental)

A 75 gal with eight Discus, fake plants, and a lot of wood also with sand substrate. Clean up crew is down to just two Sterba's Corys. Filters: continuous new water flow; canister w/UV, in-tank algae scrubber!! Finally, junked the nitrate removal unit from hell.